Ryan Mallett will play the lead role in tonight's Preseason Opener. (USA TODAY Images)

Ryan Mallett talked this week about the fact he's confident he can be a starting quarterback in this league, and it appears Bill Belichick will let him take the lead role in tonight's preseason opener.

According to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, Mallett will get the starting nod tonight, giving him an opportunity to showcase his talents during the team's first preseason game with potentially some of the first team players as he tries to continue a lot of the success he's had this week.

Mallett's received plenty of praise during these joint sessions and now that he has an opportunity to showcase himself, how he performs this preseason could potentially raise his stock high enough to give New England an opportunity to move him before the trade deadline.

Mallett said this week he believes he can be a starter in the NFL and tonight will certainly be a great opportunity for him to be able to prove it.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to be able to play a lot," Mallett told the media this week. "I haven't really gotten too many chances during the regular season because I have a pretty good guy in front of me. Any time I get to play, I look forward to it."